Cain Marko (Earth-616)
Real Name: Cain Marko Nicknames: None Former Aliases: None Other Current Aliases: None Status Occupation: Adventurer formerly Professional criminal, mercenary, soldier Legal Status: American citizen with criminal record Identity: Known to the authorities Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: X-Men, Excalibur, formerly partner of Black Tom Cassidy, member of Exemplars, Brotherhood, New World Order, eXiles, U.S.Army Base of Operations: Mobile Origin Origin: Origin unknown. Place of Birth: Berkeley, California Known Relatives: Kurt Marko (father, deceased), Marjorie Marko (mother, deceased), Sharon Xavier (step-mother, deceased), Charles Xavier (aka Professor X, step-brother) First Appearance: ''X-Men'' (Vol. 1) #12, July 1965 History Cain Marko is the son of Dr. Kurt Marko, an atomic researcher. Cain's parents separated and Cain was eventually sent to a boarding school. Kurt Marko's colleague, Dr. Brian Xavier, another atomic researcher, died in an accident, and Kurt Marko eventually married Xavier's widow Sharon for her great wealth. On marrying Sharon, Kurt Marko moved into her large Westchester County mansion, where he lived with her and her young son Charles. Cain, who had become a cruel and spiteful boy, came to live at the mansion as well. Cain immediately began bullying his new stepbrother Charles. But Cain was often secretly beaten by his abusive father. Charles' vast telepathic powers were beginning to develop, and on one occasion he found himself experiencing the anguished thoughts and emotions of Cain after Cain had been beaten by his father. The inexperienced young Charles could not control or end his contact with Cain's mind at this time. Somehow Cain sensed that Charles was reading his mind and had discovered his secret shame. Cain believed that Charles had invaded his thoughts deliberately, and from then on Cain regarded Charles as his enemy. Cain was abusive to his stepbrother at every opportunity. Getting into a disagreement with his father over money, Cain accidentally upset some explosive chemicals and caused a fire to engulf his father's home laboratory. Though Kurt Marko managed to rescue both Cain and Charles from the fire, he himself died of smoke inhalation. Sharon Xavier Marko had died sometime before, tormented by the lovelessness of her marriage to Marko. Cain Marko continued to live in the Xavier mansion, growing increasingly resentful of his stepbrother's scholastic and athletic achievements as wall as of his telepathic powers, which Xavier mastered as he grew older. What happened to Marko after he left home is unclear. However, it is known that he became a mercenary and was eventually imprisoned in a Third World jail when the revolutionary forces he was fighting for were defeated. In the jail he became friends with a fellow mercenary, Black Tom Cassidy, who used his mutant powers to help them escape. Later, Marko and Xavier found themselves serving together in the same U.S. military unit in Korea. Marko deserted under fire and Xavier went after him to bring him back. Xavier followed Marko into a cave that housed the lost secret temple of Cyttorak, a powerful mystical entity. Marko impulsively grabbed a glowing ruby from the lap of an idol and read the inscription (which mystically appeared to his mind to be in English): "Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. Henceforth, you who read these words shall become forevermore a human juggernaut." As Xavier watched, the gem's mystical power transformed Marko into a larger, superhuman being. Just then enemy high explosive bombardment caused a cave-in, and Marko was buried under several thousand tons of rock. Xavier survived and returned to his unit. Marko, now the Juggernaut, eventually dug himself free with his newfound power and made his way to America to use his power to kill Xavier. He was defeated by Xavier and his original team of X-Men. Over the years the Juggernaut has clashed with Xavier and both the original and new teams of X-Men repeatedly. He has also formed a successful criminal partnership with his old friend Black Tom Cassidy. More recently the sentient psionic being known as Onslaught, actually an amalgamation of the psyches of Xavier and Magneto, would-be world conqueror and mutant Master of Magnetism, ripped the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak from Juggernaut's body and imprisoned him within. Inside the jewel, Cain learned he was an avatar for Cyttorak. As such, the otherworldly entity sought to assume control of Juggernaut's form. But Cain, through sheer force of will, destroyed the evil god and returned to Earth, stronger than ever, but unable to fully control his amplified abilities. Cyttorak was merely one of a pantheon of eight gods, all with earthbound avatars. These Exemplars enlisted the Juggernaut's aid in constructing a machine that would enslave the human race. As the Exemplars tended to in their final preparations, Cain withdrew deep into himself, where he clashed with ytorak. Charles entered his stepbrother's mind to aid him in the battle, but the Exemplar known as Bedlam sensed his presence and expelled him. Still, Charles' short stay in Juggernaut's head had helped Cain regain control of his psyche. After defeating Cyttorak, Juggernaut destroyed the Exemplars' God Machine. He then turned his attention to the avatars themselves, defeating each in turn. Juggernaut again was cast as a hero when the sentient spaceship Prosh escaped the confines of a Celestial prison, returned to Earth and dispatched a group of disparate beings on a journey through time to uncover the keys to preserving human evolution. Besides Cain, Prosh's task force included Phoenix and Iceman, members of the X-Men; and Mystique and Toad, mutant terrorists. Their mission: Save the human race from a threat that might not manifest itself for millions of years. Juggernaut was shown that for all his physical strength, he long has lacked strength of character. Despite all his yearning for power, he has squandered his supernaturally enhanced abilities. When Prosh reassembled the members of his team in the present, they fought and defeated the enigmatic alien entity known as the Stranger, who sought to control the natural evolution of humans and mutants. If not acquiring a newfound respect for life and human dignity, at least Juggernaut gained a better sense of understanding for the mutant plight. As the result of an undisclosed battle with Cyttorak, his patron deity, Cain lost most of the power of the Juggernaut. Thereafter, Cain reconciled with Xavier and joined the X-Men. In an unusual turn for someone of Cain's personality he immediately befriended several people at the mansion including a young mutant boy named Sammy Pare, a.k.a. Squidboy, who had a positive influence on him. Cain later allowed himself to be taken into custody and then had a one-night stand with She-Hulk, who as Jennifer Walters was representing him in his trial for all the crimes he had committed as a criminal. Amazingly, Cain was exonerated of all his crimes and allowed to go free despite having numerous outstanding felonies both at home and abroad. Later, Black Tom Cassidy resurfaced and Juggernaut joined his new Brotherhood of Mutants, with the intention of betraying the group and warning the X-Men when he had the chance. Squidboy stumbled upon the Brotherhood having a meeting, and thinking that Juggernaut had betrayed the X-Men he became angry and started yelling. Annoyed, Black Tom killed the boy. Furious with rage, Juggernaut tried to kill his former friend. When the Brotherhood were sucked into a black hole by the second Xorn, Juggernaut accompanied them to make sure Nocturne (another mole) would be safe if everyone survived and to make sure the Brotherhood didn't try to attack the mansion again. He ended up in Mojoworld and became the property of Mojo along with Nocturne. To escape, Nocturne took control of Mojo's henchwoman, Spiral, and opened a portal to the X-Men's Danger Room, where they were reunited with the team. This, however, was a trap set by Spiral, who was in more control of her body than thought, leaving a portal open to allow Mojo to cross over as well. Mojo turned the X-Men into X-Babies, but they managed to overpower his forces anyway. Juggernaut still felt extremely guilty about Squidboy's death, and how the boy's last words were that he hated him. He wondered if he should remain a child, this being his chance to start over with a clean slate, but Storm comforted him and convinced him not to. The X-Men were re-aged, and Juggernaut remained with the team. In the wake of House of M, in which the majority of the mutant population was depowered, Juggernaut has joined the new Excalibur grouping in London. Characteristics Height: 6'10" Weight: 900 lbs (409 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Red Unusual Features: Enormous size. Powers Strength Level: The Juggernaut normally possesses Class 100 strength, enabling him to lift (press) over 100 tons. However, his strength in his current weakened state has been likened to roughly the same as the X-Man Colossus. Known Powers: Juggernaut possesses tremendous physical power granted to him by Cytorrak. The Crimson Ruby of Cyttorak has bonded to his soul and altered his being, giving him powers equally or exceeding most of 'Homo Superior', though the ruby is still the root of his power, not genetic evolution. Invulnerability: The Juggernaut's body is completely invulnerable. His skin can not be broken and he is incapable of feeling pain or sustaining any form of injury from any conventional physical attack, regardless of the amount of force or energy that is exerted against him. He can, however, become jarred or dazed and has some susceptibility to sensory attacks, though he is affected considerably less than a normal human being and can recover completely almost as soon as the attack is over. *''Impenetrable Force Field Generation: The Juggernaut can generate, at will, a personal forcefield around himself extending to about 1 foot from his body. This forcefield appears to be completely impenetrable to any level of concussive force or any form of energy blasts regardless of their intensity. *Complete Resistance to All Toxins, Poisons, Gases, and Diseases: The Juggernaut is resistant to all toxins, poisons, gases, and disease. *Self-Sustenance: He is self-contained by his magic and does not need to eat, drink, breathe, and can not tire or become exhausted. '''Superhuman Strength': The Juggernaut also possesses untold power which enhanced his strength to an as yet unknown degree and make him a seemingly irresistible, unstoppable being. Unstoppability: Once he begins to walk in a certain direction, no obstacle or natural force on Earth has been observed to be able to stop him. Apparently only he can stop himself. Some obstacles (many tons of rocks, for example) or forces(such as plasma-discharge cannons)have slowed his pace considerably, but nothing purely physical has yet to stop him from permanently advancing. Originally, as a result of a battle with Cyttorak, the Juggernaut lost most of his enormous power, as well as his mystical armor. Although still physically powerful, he was nowhere near his prime. Recently, however, the Juggernaut appears to be back to his physical prime, easily powering through the combination of the evil version of Jean Grey's telekinetic onslaught and the evil version of Cyclops' full assault optic blast with no ill effects to himself. Juggernaut also easily withstood an ice barrage from the evil version of Iceman, when it was seen that in Uncanny X-men issues #410-411 that he could not then withstand an assault from Iceman. However, he still doesn't possess his original, mystical, mind-protection helmet and armor. Known Abilities: Juggernaut was formerly able to summon and remove his mystic armor at will. Miscellaneous Equipment: The Juggernaut formerly wore a helmet fashioned from an unknown mystical metal found in the dimension of Cyttorak that protects him from all forms of psionic attack. After several occasions where his helmet had been removed, Juggernaut made a skullcap of the same material. His current helmet is a facsimile and lacks these special properties. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Limitations: The Juggernaut does have certain vulnerabilities. He can be affected by mystical forces of sufficient strength. Without his helmet and/or skullcap, he is vulnerable to psionic attacks against his mind. Nimrod, a robot from the future of an alternate Earth, successfully attacked the Juggernaut's mind and nervous system with advanced weaponry producing tight-beam high-frequency sound waves and a synapse dislocater that jammed his neural impulses. While perhaps Juggernaut's forcefield would have protected him from such attacks, they have also been used successfully on other beings who employ protective forcefields. Attacks to his eyes cause Juggernaut to blink or raise his hand to cover them. This is more likely a natural instinct since his helmet and increased durability should protect him. In other dimensions where Cytorrak's power is unable to replenish him as quickly (such as his adventures in the Ultraverse), Juggernaut weakens. The Juggernaut once attempted to transform Black Tom Cassidy into a being like himself with the ruby of Cyttorak. The result was that both Marko and Cassidy were Juggernauts, but each had considerably less power than Marko had possessed when he was the sole Juggernaut. (Marko and Cassidy each claimed to have half Marko's previous power, but this is inaccurate, considering that the Juggernaut's previous power level was virtually immeasurable.) Marko finally regained his full power, and hurled the ruby into orbit so that no one else could ever use it. Lastly, Juggernaut's power is still greatly dependent on his bond to Cytorrak. Appearances in Other Media * Juggernaut is played by Vinnie Jones in X-Men: The Last Stand. In the film, Juggernaut is a mutant and recruited by Magneto as one of his liuetenants. He faces off against Wolverine in Jean's old neighborhood and he is sent by Magneto himself to kill Leech and is tricked by Kitty into running hard into a wall and being knocked unconscious. There is no mention of Juggernaut's relationship with Xavier. His helmet, as opposed to the dome with three holes (one for each eye and another for the mouth), instead seems to be a concrete dome which nonetheless leaves his face completely exposed, more resembling Magneto's helmet. * Juggernaut was the villain in the "A Firestar is Born" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. *Juggernaut appeared in the X-Men animated series, the Pryde of the X-Men pilot, and the more recent X-Men: Evolution series, which changed him into Xavier's half-brother and made him a mutant whose powers were awakened by a Cyttorak gem, explained to hold special properties that enhanced and evolved mutants. * Juggernaut has also appeared in various X-Men video game spinoffs. He appeared in the X-Men arcade game, the X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse Super NES game, X2: Wolverine's Revenge, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, X-Men Legends, and X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (as a boss in Legends and a playable character in Legends 2). He has also appeared in several of Capcom's Marvel-based fighting games, beginning with X-Men: Children of the Atom; his Capcom rendition is notable for being the largest version of him yet, slightly taller than in the comics, and just about as wide. Notes * Juggernaut will be joining the new Excalibur team. Recommended Readings: * Amazing Spider-Man #229 * Amazing Spider-Man #230 Appearances *Dr. Strange Vol. 1, No. 182 September 1969; Featuring: Nightmare *Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Vol. 1, No. 44 August 1992; Featuring: Cytorrak *The Mighty Thor Vol. 1, No. 429 February 1991; Featuring: Ghost Rider, The Wrecking Crew, Excalibur, Mephisto *X-Men Unlimited Vol. 1, No. 12 September 1996; Featuring: Doctor Strange, Gomurr The Ancient, Tar, Spite, Cytorrak Related Articles * Black Tom Cassidy * Charles Xavier See Also * Character Gallery: Juggernaut External Links * References * Marvel Directory ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Secret Identity Category:Male Characters Category:Single Characters Category:X-Men members Category:Excalibur members hu:Bulldózer